King in round 2 action against Egyptian 20-year-old Farida Mohamed. Source / Squash NZ
Joelle King (Ngāti Porou) has lost her semifinal to world no. 2 Egyptian Nouran Gohar at the Black Ball Open in Cairo this morning (NZ time).
King played some "fantastic squash" from the outset to go one up against the 24-year-old, taking out the first game 11-5 with some accurate and powerful shot making. It was the first game that her opponent had dropped all year.
However, Gohar fought back, drawing equal (11-8) in the second and then edging ahead 2-1 in the third.
In the third game, King had opportunities to go ahead herself but a number of long rallies took the game to 12-12 and finally the Egyptian winning 14-12.
Semifinal action from today's match
In the fourth game, Gohar seemed to have just a bit more zip in her shots as she won 11-5 to seal the match 3-1 in 59 minutes.
Gohar will now take over the world no. 1 ranking at the beginning of the month.
A huge effort from Joelle King but she goes down to World No.2 Nouran Gohar in the Black Ball Open semis 3-1: 5-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-5 (59m)
Posted by Squash New Zealand Poipātū Aotearoa on Wednesday, March 16, 2022
King won her way through to the PSA World Tour tournament semifinal after making light work of world no. 4 USA's Amanda Sobhy in the quarterfinals 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 in 31 minutes.
Black Ball Women's Squash Open 2022 - QF Roundup: Joelle King vs Amanda Sobhy. Source / YouTube
Earlier in the open, King won a drama-filled second-round clash against Egyptian 20-year-old Farida Mohamed 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-13, 9-3, after her opponent was forced to concede the match following a knee injury.
The New Zealander was the only non-Egyptian in the semifinals and was beaten by Gohar in the semifinals of the Windy City Open in Chicago at the beginning of the month.
Just 1️⃣ hour to go until the Black Ball Open semis begin 🇪🇬 ⏰ 20:00 Joelle King 🇳🇿 🆚 Nouran Gohar 🇪🇬 Follow by Nour el...
Posted by Squash - PSA World Tour on Wednesday, March 16, 2022